Thyroid cancer: is the incidence still increasing?

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Oncology
• Public Health

Background:

• Thyroid cancer incidence has been rising globally.
• Understanding regional trends is crucial for public health initiatives.
• Comparing local data with national registries aids in trend analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the epidemiology of thyroid cancer in a specific regional population.
• To compare these regional findings with national trends from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program.
• To analyze incidence rates by gender, age, and stage.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Florida Cancer Data System (FCDS) for thyroid cancer cases diagnosed between 1990 and 2000.
• Calculated overall, gender-specific, age-specific, and stage-specific incidence rates per 100,000 population.
• Employed age-adjustment to the 2000 U.S. standard population and calculated Estimated Annual Percent Change (EAPC).

Main Results:

• Identified 8,603 thyroid cancer cases in the FCDS registry.
• Age-adjusted incidence rates in Florida increased from 4.2 to 7 per 100,000, with an EAPC of 5.5%.
• Florida's trends were concordant with SEER data, showing increases in both male and female incidence rates across age groups.

Conclusions:

• Thyroid cancer incidence in Florida nearly doubled from 1990 to 2000, aligning with SEER Program trends.
• The study highlights the need for etiological research into factors like reproductive changes and diagnostic practices.
• Further investigation into histological criteria changes is recommended to explain the observed incidence increases.